This race row with India is getting out of hand

Watcher says:

10:16am | 02/06/09

Guess the planned holiday to India for the Commonwealth Games next yearr is on hold.

Braidy says:

10:38am | 02/06/09

I am amazed by what social commentators are saying on this very issue. This isn’t about the attacks on Indians, it should be about the violence in the city as a whole, now because they are Indian it makes the front pages, but if a white male in beaten in to an inch of his life you wouldn’t hear about it. They say these attacks are on purpose, what if any evidence do they have? A secondly having a large group of india’s destroying property at Flinders St is not the way to dissolve any racial tensions.

spiro pappas says:

10:57am | 02/06/09

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

bride burning..
selling girls to arab families?
caste system

who is the violent offensive culture?

Stephen says:

11:09am | 02/06/09

Dear Editor,
The Victorian police and government take the bashing of students as a trophy and great act.There elements in the govt that are racist.Kevin Rudd rather than talking in parliament should take the issue with the vic govt.

D. Fife says:

11:09am | 02/06/09

I didn’t see a high level of concern shown either here or India when Hindu fanatics burnt alive an Australian missionary and his two little sons. I suppose that was all right was it?

Eric says:

11:12am | 02/06/09

This is largely a media beat-up intended to falsely portray Australians as racists.

The media are the villains here, and should be boycotted.

Adrian says:

11:12am | 02/06/09

This is about attacks on young people who aren’t aware of the precautions they should be taking.

Australia has it’s share of racists but also it’s share of criminals. These Indian kids probably just don’t recognize a dangerous situation and walk right into it instead of avoiding it.

You are students for goodness sake. Educate yourselves on where you shouldn’t be going and who you should be avoiding.

Steve Atkins says:

11:13am | 02/06/09

Oh puhleeze. India’s press posturing on race of all things ?  A country where it is standard form to pick out your partner based on social caste and ,(of course), the most desirable ones have the palest skin .  As for the limp wristed ” not game to mention which group is responsible for the attacks” , let us just lay it on the table ; ” It ain’t the much maligned “skips” displaying this racism.

jane says:

11:15am | 02/06/09

i think that’s a literal general,(spiro pappas) if that is the case we can look at australian history and condemn all Australians to be convicts.

The issue as it stands is a large group of ethnic culture be it Indian are being subjected to violent means. These students are coming over to broaden their education and essentially pay significantly more for their education then the majority that live here. I think the government should be intervening, if its causing an international incident.

Mick says:

11:25am | 02/06/09

Correlation does not equal causation.  There seems to be no evidence reported that these attacks are a part of any racist grand master plan.  There does seem to be a higher incidence, is this due to a population concentration, and the risk in general of these types of crimes?

Rob says:

11:26am | 02/06/09

OK, so if a bunch of Aussies sat in the busiest intersection in India, in protest about a concern, your telling me the Indian people would shower them with roses?? The Aussies would be LUCKY to get out of there alive, probably get stoned to death! Yet these WHINGERS cry foul and call out I am being ‘attacked’ when police simply try to move them on. Poor little babies. It MUST be racial then.

Ingrid says:

11:29am | 02/06/09

This is not going to help at all. It will incite more trouble for the students in Oz. In the scheme of things, not many indian students have been attacked here at all.It is not because of their race that they have mugged, ordinary Aussies get mugged all the time too. Aussies get attacked in India also. So, all this will do is make Aussies extremely irate and want them all to go home. Because of this media beatup, Indian students are now in a very unsafe situation, which was NOT the case before. For their safety now, it would be wiser for them all to go home.We have always enjoyed Indian imput in Australia, we love their food and colourful culture, This however is causing a very bad environment to occur and we are all VERY upset about it. If effigies of our PM are being burnt, I hate to think what trouble is brewing. Indian students are now MUCH more fearful than they were a week ago, and all because of this media gross exaggeration. White people in India get mugged all the time. How would you like it if we burnt an effigy of your Prime Minister? See what trouble its all causing? Maybe best if we just all stick in our home countries after all, maybe the multicultural thing has failed.

Ingrid says:

11:45am | 02/06/09

Also, Australians will stop going to India if they are threatening to beat us up until we cant remember our names. I certainly wont be going there now. It will badly affect their essential tourist trade as I am sure other white people will stop going there too as they could be mistaken for Aussies. I bet they didnt think of that issue before they started mouthing off. Go home guys, you obviously think India is a much safer country and no one gets mugged or attacked there. Why come to such an appalling violent place like Australia, I mean we have such a name for being unjust, aggressive, violent and intolerant, one of the few countries in the world who take in refugees. How silly have we been?

Paul says:

11:46am | 02/06/09

Indians calling us racists again? I thought after Andrew Symonds was considered racist for taking offense to being called a monkey sealed that issue. I wonder if any of these Hindu fanatics have been to good old fashioned anti-Muslim human burning lately.

victor says:

11:50am | 02/06/09

the news heading “Hindu extremists burn Kevin Rudd effigies” shows that your news paper is racist. Heading could have been “Indian extremists burn Kevin Rudd effigies”

Well yours a country of beggers who wants to thrive on the money given to you by the students. Is it enough to show you the mirror

Jeremy Bowen says:

11:51am | 02/06/09

How many Asian,  Caucasian, Indigenous etc students, workers were the victims of violence in the same period ?
The race card has been worn out.
Call it a Rasist attack and all of a sudden we, as a country are guilty of being rasist.
So when the Australian Missionary and his children were burnt to death in his car in India was that ok ? Did that strain Australian/Indian relations ?
I don’t hear the idiots who target foreigners for their ’ political’ purposes being labeled racists.
If an Australian belts an Australian the courts decide if the fight was provoked, self defence, robbery etc.
As soon as you pop that word ‘racist’ into the story everthing is nice and neat.
Morons who are guests in this country all of a sudden have the right to demonstrate, destroy property and label us as racist country.
Maybe if countries like India relocated the billions it spends on developing nuclear weapons to developing their education system then they wouldnt have to send their kids here in the first place.
Even though we dont have slums full of starving masses who live off garbage dumps, religious-political extremests, a divorce system that is made up of a can of petrol and a box of matches and call centers that ring the world at all times of the day and night, we do have idiots, morons and bullies.
Everyone has the right to be safe in their country and if people dont feel safe here I hope they fell safe when they go home…...I would say sooner rather than later but that would be rasist wouldnt it.

KK says:

11:53am | 02/06/09

Dear people , this is just media at its worst again , as far as the BJP protesters in India go they are just a mob who have nothing much to do other than blowing things out of proportion and worsening the situation and creating fear and worry in the minds of the near and dear ones of the students involved .

Police in any nation would have done the same as what the Aussie police did . its just sad that it had to take such a turn .

we hope speedy recovery to the students hurt and peace prevail .

Grant says:

11:56am | 02/06/09

I saw what happened on the news and I am of the view that the force used by the victorian police was a tad excessive. However it heartened me to see that the PM condemned that amount of force. We must point out that this protest fell outside of the legal preimeters of a legal protest as it was blocking a busy intersection and sufficent notice was not given to authorities about it. The most annoying thing is that the Indian newspapers are claiming that all Australians are racist please I live with an Indian man who has a view point of on all nationalities at times he is anti-semitic and hates all people from pakistan. Does that mean I am to apply the same brush to all indians no I don’t I know that he is a minority not a majority. FOOD FOR THOUGHT??

harry says:

12:04pm | 02/06/09

this country is in big trouble with its drunkenenss and violence and now its attacks on ethnic communities
we are on a downward spiral and need to do something quick
wake up australia

The Cabbie says:

12:05pm | 02/06/09

India, a country with the most discriminating caste system in the world, is labeling Australia as racist because a few student got into trouble with some jobbos.
Talk about the Pot calling the Kettle black!
It also made news that an Indian national working as a taxi driver in Melbourne got bashed up. Even though I feel sorry for the driver, may I suggest that Indians stop driving taxi’s as obviously it is a job too dangerous for them. I’ll pick up the slack, thanks fellows.

Emi says:

12:08pm | 02/06/09

I was once an international student in Australia nad now I live here. Throughout my time here, random acts of racism towards the other is unfotunately, something we are unable to avoid. Its an old story-one have to live and learn. It happens to everyone , no matter what colour of skin we are.

What is happening now ,demonstration, burning of effigee is not helping the situation. Tolerance and openness needs to be put in action.

The victims are now turning into the wrong-doers with their violent reactions.

Ravi Shankar says:

12:13pm | 02/06/09

Hey Racists:

We all know how and why Australia was formed. I am sure the blood of criminals still run deep within.

Learn from Canada and see how the Sri Lankan problem and protests were handled by the police here.

Shame on you all.

Tom says:

12:22pm | 02/06/09

How can the BJP call anyone racist? Are they not the guys running around murdering Muslims left right and centre?... Gujarat for example?

Simon Bleechmore says:

12:26pm | 02/06/09

Thank you Emi for your common sense, and no thanks to you Ravi Shankar for another racist rant - just what the media wants. This is an enormous media beat up and unfortunately the Indian Media are past masters at this. This will have a negative impact on so many decent people and a good political relationship - travellers, athletes, business people and families will all suffer. Indian and Australian citizens of reason, please speak up.

Let’s not fight fire with fire. The media should be the ones under attack here.

Peter says:

12:49pm | 02/06/09

I remember a lot of the same from Indians who came to London in the late 60’s and early 70’s when I was at Junior School.  They painted a white line across our playground and we were not allowed to cross it because we might bully the Indians and Pakistanis - now look - not many non-Indian people left in London ... if they don’t like it here - then like all of us - they are welcome to go back to the place where they were happiest and stop calling us racists! stop trying to make this place we love and call Australia into ‘Little India’.  I’d never condone any violence for whatever reason - but I can understand how people feel when we are being flooded with thousands of people from such different cultures. 

Ahmed says:

12:52pm | 02/06/09

Mate I am an Australian of Indian origin, I’ve been through the student life here and been through student life there,  I believe an Indian is no less racist/casteist than any ordinary Aussie. Anyone calling Australia racist (especially Indians) should look at the majority of Aussies who were disgusted with the government about the treatment of Dr.Mohammed Haneef.  I’ve come across so many good Aussies in my life that the number of racists I do come across doesn’t bother me anymore. What really is disgusting is the attitude of the police here(in Melbourne) and not least the state(vic) government. I live in sydney I’ve been mugged(but not by white aussies). Well the Indian media wouldn’t be so hysterical today if the police and the state government did their job properly. in any case burning the effigy of my prime minister irks me the most, for heaven’s sake wakeup it’s not 1967.

L Sharman says:

12:59pm | 02/06/09

Over the years the prejudices have built up with the differences between ethnic Asian community’s .Racist journalist help flame the fire in event of Pauline Hanson and others . The cronulla riots were seen as racism but Hooliganism by John Howard . We haven’t even   signed a declaration of human rights . We now have younger aggressive Hooligans who pick on ethnic community’s and feel they are superior . This is a sad outcome. What I am worried about is the international reputation when we seek to do business overseas . We’ll come last if we are perceived to be racist. Sooner we wake up and admit we do have a problem . We can all start by getting to know and respecting ethnic community as important members of our society rather then the alienation in the workplace, the neighborhood, or socially
In the words of John Lennon ” Give peace a Chance”

Very Proud Aussie. says:

01:00pm | 02/06/09

Just because it happens here, doesnt mean that Aussies have done it, we have had problems in the past with Muslims rioting (sydney) We have had problems with the Asian community regarding drugs and weapons and others i wont mention here, yes it happens. When you look at India for example, you have the caste system, child brides, selling of children to wealthy families, abject povity in some areas, we have had Australian missionaries being killed in India (not to much a problem when it is there) it gets fobbed off and hopefully forgotten. We live in a country that is relatively safe compared to other nations (such as India for example) yes, we have our problems, they are NOTHING compared to other countries, simple fix to their problems- GO HOME!, if you feel its not safe to live or study here, good, go to the States- Europe, anywhere else and see how much different it is.

Tom says:

01:02pm | 02/06/09

Dennis, ive been avoiding work all morning by reading Punch and I have to hand it to you mate, that is the strangest comment to be posted yet. Congratulations!

Evan says:

01:13pm | 02/06/09

In my view Braidy and Ahmed have summed up this overblown nonsense.

Dennis you got go easy on the caffeine mate, there are too many exclamations in you views for anyone to read without getting breathless.

If I might attempt a finesse Ahmed and Braidy… I will have you all know….

AUSSIE CRIMINALS MIGHT BE DANGEROUS THUGS WHO LIKE TO NICK STUFF BUT THEY ARE NOT RASCIST, ORRIGHT?

give me a break.

Michael says:

01:20pm | 02/06/09

heh Self hating whitie, I see the racist propaganda of other nations is working well. You love your facts don’t you dennis, how about the fact that atleast one of these beat up “racist” attacks was committed by people of non european decent, the police are toothless tigers and they treat most citizens with disrespect so get over yourself students.

My first encouter with racism was when i was 10 years old and an african american boy decided i was white trash and needed that point reiterated as much as possible.

Manju says:

01:33pm | 02/06/09

I have lived in Australia since 1991 and took up Australian citizenship in 1995. I lived in France for a couple of years before I came to Australia and in Singapore for 3 years after I came here. Sydney, Australia is home.

I call Australia home because we are a peaceful country. The people are tolerent and embracing of new cultures. Yes, there will always be a fringe element that is intolerent of people from overseas. But this is not unique to Australia. Each human being is by nature wired to portray themselves as superior to others. We find creative and not-so-creative ways to do this.

Branding what has happened in Melbourne as an act of racism does not help. I do not know the full details of the various attacks in Melbourne - but the way to seek redress is not to attack emotionally - be it verbally or physically. I call on all fellow-Australians to let the media beat-up wash over us. Let us set an example and show the world at large how to handle tough situations like this. I wish the people who have sustained injuries a speedy recovery and hope that they get their justice in the courts of Australia.

Tracy says:

01:38pm | 02/06/09

Talk about sloppy journalism, the article I read yesterday did not say who attacked the Indian students in Melbourne ?  Talk about leaving half the story out ?

Sky Channel was alot more quiet than the story and Channel 7 seemed to be the most honest in the coverage. Showing the damage to the rail station, I dont even know who the attackers are because no one has mentioned it ?

dean says:

01:39pm | 02/06/09

Unfortunately I have had to change my holiday plans. I was going to spend a month in India in December but now fear for my safety and am going to Thailand instead. How could a handful of muggings in Melborne turn into this?

sumit says:

01:42pm | 02/06/09

Is that good journalism to quote some random blogger? Was that said on national tele? you are taking the journalism to new depth.

Secondly, most of the Indians are mild-mannered, cultured and shy. It is only when they are treated badly despite the fact that they are more educated and qualified you get to hear those tones.

Still believe that 99% of the people on both the sides of the Pond are good humans; just the police, politics and press suck..

aparna says:

01:46pm | 02/06/09

This issue is blown out of proportion by the media, mainly the Indian media. BJP has recently lost in election in big time. Just to show that they are proactive they are doing all the stupidity. They do not represent common man of india (as clearly stated by the election resuls). There are bad elements in every country. Educated people should not exchange unnecessary words and make the probelm more sensitive.

Majority of Indians in Australia do not approve of the racism card played here. They are not with the indian media either. All this media hype is going to alienate this majority Indians who like to integrate. Think about that before doing further damage.

Gail says:

01:46pm | 02/06/09

Indians should look in their own back yard. Oh and Australia should get rid of the call centres over there. I agree with “Very Proud Aussie” Also we should not bow down to anyone we have helped and invited many countries.

Lejuan says:

01:47pm | 02/06/09

All the posts here talking about how Australia is no more or less racist than India are missing the point. We can’t do anything about racism in India but we can do something about it here. The Indian media are obviously pushing a hot story, so we shouldn’t let that be a distraction in the face of what our nation’s issues are.

Many Indian students work late shifts, and I think this is where part of the problem lies. Their knock-off time is smack-bang in the middle of those times where it is most dangerous to be on the streets. Indian students are generally not knock-about types and are seen as ‘soft targets’. And then there’s the rest of it - different culture, different skin-colour etc.

So I think the race issue is being over-played, the first two points are more likely to be the reason for these attacks. Having said this, I don’t think the Victorian police should be coming out and denying the racial nature of the attacks. I know the Vic cops treat everybody equally - whether it’s a bunch of Indians protesting in the city or a bunch of parents protesting school closures, these cops are fair and equal in their administering of broken limbs and heavy-handed handling of protesters.

One last point to this ramble: international education is Australia’s third largest export. We cannot afford to alienate foreign students, either culturally or economically.

Tracy says:

01:55pm | 02/06/09

I’m with you Tom, regarding Dennis’s rant…good grief…still giggling:)

Jack Straw says:

02:01pm | 02/06/09

Australia has had a problem with all non-white people whether it is Aboroginies, Chinese, Greeks, Indians or Italians.
The racism issue needs to be addressed at a societal level instead of being brushed under the carpet.

Balasingam says:

02:07pm | 02/06/09

I think it’s an incident and flamed with racist remarks without an amiciable solutions at both ends. People are people whoever they are and we should get this issue calm and resort solutions for the next cause of actions for future betterment for every peace living citizen wherever they goes. Sometime lesson need to be learn in a hard way.

Tracy says:

02:07pm | 02/06/09

Sumit says, “Secondly, most of the Indians are mild-mannered, cultured and shy.”. This is blatant racial profiling. Besides…how would we know what most Indians are like seeing as how we rarely get the opportunity to meet those of the ‘lower’ castes and social classes. The Indian students might be from relatively weathy and educated families…what about the many millions who aren’t lucky enough, despite their best efforts, to be able to study here? Or maybe they aren’t ‘cultured’ enough and therefore wouldn’t have a hope in hell of ever coming here.

John Doe says:

02:07pm | 02/06/09

Australia is a very small country and can hardly afford to lose the 2 billion dollars that Indian students pump into the economy. Bollywood took Melbourne to the world and Indian tourists spend millions in Australia. On the whole Australia gets much more from India than it gives. It would be a good idea if India snaps the business ties with Australia and isolates it on the world stage as a RACIST nation. If 1.2 billion people spread this message…....its likely to be heard.

nic says:

02:10pm | 02/06/09

Facts:

There is plenty of anti-social behaviour not properly dealt with in Australia in general. The Police, teachers etc are generally powerless.

The situation wasn’t helped when the Victorian Police told Indian students to be less visible.

Some of those meting out attacks are immigrants themselves, notably from Africa and the Islands

The situation has gotten out of control because it was never dealt with honestly and properly from the start.

JB says:

02:19pm | 02/06/09

I can’t believe those violent protesters racially attached our peaceful police!

Raj says:

02:22pm | 02/06/09

I think it is important not to lose sight of the actual issue here. It is a fact that students of Indian origin have been target of physical assaults sometime very brutal. This has been going on for a long time. Sometimes these get reported mostly not. I know people personally who have been at the receiving end of such attacks and left the country never to return. What ever the motive, racial or not, only the attacker would know. But what has been very disappointing, and to me the main issue here is, the response of police. One of the reasons why such attacks continue to happen is that perpetrators of such crimes know very well that they can always get away with it. Police must be impartial and not forced to act because there is a economic repercussions.

As far as the BJP activist in India burning the effigy of Kevin Rudd is concerned, this should be condemned by all. In the present context BJP after loosing the election is trying very hard to be “relevant” and come to limelight. They are trying very hard to latch on to any opportunity that they can find. This has nothing to do with Hindu religion (as was mentioned in the headlines, BTW, such headlines cause more trouble and bias the readers). BJP is behaving like an oppurtunistic politicians like everywhere else.

In my own personal experince I have suffered verbal racial abuse in my job at the car-park. And I am sure people with all minority background especially in unskilled work environments learn to put up with this. Having said that, I must emphasize that Australians are easy-going, friendly and just people.

Finally, I have a suggestion to make for the media on both sides - be fair in your reporting. Don’t create divisions among prople and play on people lower emotions just that you can seel an extra newspaper or have an extra listener on your talk show.

Live and let live

Glenn says:

02:24pm | 02/06/09

The issue here is not of Racial Intolerance but of Violence. The main reason why so many Indian Students are targeted, I think, is because they tend to congregate in the cheaper Western Suburbs of Melbourne. Sunshine, Footscray, St Albans, Tottenham, Braybrook and many other Western Suburbs are where you find the highest number of Indians.

Being cheap, these areas also tend to have a lot of junkies and addicts. These people will do anything for a hit. This is more a matter of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Nothing less or nothing more.

I think if the Indian students were legitimate and had the funds that they should to come here as students, they will be living as students from any other Country. Why is it that we don’t see groups of other students being attacked in the same manner? It’s because they don’t work at odd hours to make a buck, generally don’t stay in dangerous areas and are more mainstream than the Indian Community.

I think the problem needs to be addresses at that root, a review is required of students to determine who’s here to genuinely study, who’s here to work and who’s here just for the Residency.

Indians should be ashamed of blaming Australia for their woes, when many have been working here legally/illegally to support families back in India.

Never bite the hand that feeds you.

Mike says:

02:26pm | 02/06/09

This tension needs to be diffused. No point in letting the media make a meal of it. The bottom line is that Indian students have been attacked in succession and it is causing concerns. India has one of the best education systems in the world but unfortunately coming to Australia tends to broaden up their horizons. Personally I would say the system in the US and UK is far superior. This racial tension is there in all these coutries so theres no point harping about it. We are all racists in some way. Haneef’s case was handled very badly by the Australian media but there was almost no coverage when he was absolved of the charges. Is it true that Harbhajan’s nephew was murdered in Thornbury???? Well none of us in Aus know this coz this would then open up Monkeygate all over again. As far as I am aware Symonds still plays at the IPL - does the man have any shame??? Why should Indian students then return back home when they are actually supporting the Aus economy & jobs (education being Australia’s 4th largest business). This country has a huge potential so please do not ruin it fellow Aussies. We do not want to go back to those days when atrocities were committed on fellow Aborigines by your ancestors - we know what everyone is capable of. No point in telling us that multiculturalism has failed or go back curry munchers coz u guys stole a country & we are just here to share the spoils.

Munna says:

02:31pm | 02/06/09

well these protest should be made as human being not as an Indian. that would make more sense. Its not that these people indulge into fights thinking that the person is Indian . These people are a threat to Australian society as well.The human behaviour is greatly affected when he is under the influence of the alcohol and you would notice that most of these assults occur when a person is under the influence of alcohol.Its no point in discussing the racial behaviour of Australian when thousands of Indian , Pakistanis and many other people of other origings are working here and are well paid no less than any Australian.I thing the issue to be discussed is how to decrease the increasing crime rate in australia.

LM says:

02:32pm | 02/06/09

It amazes me that Adelaidians can have such vehement opinions without bothering to inform themselves of the facts beforehand. As has already been mentioned, the problem of violence targeted at Indians has been a long-running problem in Melbourne. Browsing throught the Melbourne Age will give you a clearer picture of the nature of the problem.

The rally is a symptom of a minority group who feel physically threatened, and do not believe that the Government is protecting them.

thomas greaves says:

02:50pm | 02/06/09

About time that the racism endemic in Australian culture, handed down along with the genocidal atrocities committed against Aborigines from the not so distant past in this country, is named. Australia must face itself instead of denying, defending and reacting against the pain and trauma it carries. All Australians live with their culture’s history in their blood, and like South Africa must face the truth. It’s the only way to heal the wounds of racism and the traumas associated with this culture’s beginnings is to cultivate national reflective consciousness by facing the truth and building the strength to take responsibility for the shadow that haunts this nation.

Vijay Kumar says:

02:52pm | 02/06/09

It is really bad that media is running a campaign of hatred than unification. I am fortunate enough to have lived in both the countries and can appreciate the good things about both the cultures.
My personal experience is that Australians are much more egalitarian than Indians.May be the students cause was needed to be listened to and actions are required to resolve their concerns but accusing the complete society to be racist is insane. The way issues have been flagged and the concerns raised is not appropriate at all. In a democratic society there are ways to do everything in a right manner and should be followed.
May god help us in building bridges, focusing on resolving the issues and concerns than running a campaign of hatred.

kat says:

02:55pm | 02/06/09

There seems to be a recurrent theme that we can’t afford to alienate Indian students as they r so supportive of the Australian economy.  I wonder how much of the billions quoted is actually bought into Australia form overseas, and how much is earned (often illegally I’m guessing considering u are only allowed to work 20 hours per week if u are an international student).  If u earn money here to pay for education u are not supporting an industry, that money would be earned by someone else and spent in Aus in all likelihood anyway.

Of course this doesn’t mean anyone should be attacked, just pointing to the fact that the figures quoted about the benefits

Glenn says:

03:09pm | 02/06/09

Kat - Excellent comment. Not only does it mean that the money earned here doesn’t contribute anything extra to the economy, it also means that, in the current climate, it adds to the woes of another Australian.

It actually costs the economy double of the actual amount in question as not only the money is not brought in from overseas, it denies another Australian the same dollar that they are putting in the education system.

I rather an Australian get their education that way than a foreigner.

Glenn

Nikhil says:

03:12pm | 02/06/09

Glen, while I agree with the first part of your comment, I think the latter was uncalled for. I was an Indian student in the US and have spent some of my best years there.

It just depends on your approach to life. I look at a person as just that, a being, who I may or may not get along with regardless of age/sex/color.

The media in India tends to sensationalize everything. I’m appalled at the fact that they are not smart enough to realize that their sensationalization of events leads to fueling hate and violence. While this matter is that of urban violence, it has been escalated to a level of racism and international tensions. Its now an out of control sprialling vortex leading to nowhere good.

I fear for Indians in Australia and even more for Australians in India. In sheer numbers, the number of people who don’t see reason are more here I guess.

sapan kapoor says:

03:24pm | 02/06/09

My request to Australia. Please stop this nonsence otherwise it will prove to be a big setback for Indo-Ausi cultural and economic ties.
Indians must not be attacked anymore in Australia because India is not the country you can mess with. I hope Australia understands it. Lets live in peace together in this beautifull world and mind you this world is too small therefore dont think that you mess with Indians at your home and we will not retaliate. Yes we believe in non violence because we admire Mahatma Gandhi Ji but dont take it as our weakness.
Enough is Enough!!!!

khichuri says:

03:54pm | 02/06/09

I am an Indian teaching in an university in Melbourne for the past 3 years. I think the hysterical coverage of this issue in the Indian media should be denounced by all Indians. Nothing justifies burning the effigee of Kevin Rudd who has condemned the attacks in the strongest language possible and promised to do everything he could to stop them. Whats happening is that 24/7 news channels are relatively recent in India and they often try to whip up passions/sensationalize issues to attract attention- they did this after the Bombay terrorist attacks. The effigee burning is by an extremist/violent Hindu group who are themselves responsible for lot of hate crimes! Friends- don’t postpone your holiday to India because of this- this craziness is going to blow over soon!

Michael says:

03:58pm | 02/06/09

“Indians must not be attacked anymore in Australia because India is not the country you can mess with.” heh feeble threats from feeble minds, your race has a collective Napoleon complex, I wonder if its occurred to you intellectual giants that threatening to leave is playing right into the hands of any racists who want to bash you out of the country. Gee say im a skin head watching all this i have an irrational hatred of anyone not white and i want you out of my country, well i guess i better not bash any more students that might do what i want and leave…. This is an issue with policing and Australians are just as unimpressed with their continued lack of competence, get out of your cars and back on the streets, you are paid to prevent crime not just react to it.

Dilli da jatt says:

04:16pm | 02/06/09

Mate I am christian Indian,

I never ever had trouble in india and excelled high in my career.If you see your blokes majority till the age of 18 they are useless then when somebody more capable comes and take their positions they get insecure. I do not hate australia its a lovely country.But one thing I would say do not mess with us. Never forget in coming time it will be your loss not Indias we are not aboriginees that you can overshadow us.we are big country and big military. you will be sucked by our force. even the routine beggar in india earns better than aussie druggies and useless blokes.even a beggar won’t rob people for a packet of cigerettes in India. do not create a situation which can create trouble for auusies in india we are very emotional people.if we get switched on we kill or die. mate do not create furore in us.be peaceful. Jai Hind

RD says:

04:28pm | 02/06/09

If media and politicians are kept out of this story, there is nothing left. It is only a case of controlling crime in a busy city - attacks that could have happened on anyone and anywhere. No one of us supports these attacks or stupid things like burning effigees. May the 2 beautiful countries live in peace and harmony. I cant believe the friendships between Aussies and Indians can be threatenend by a media which is hungry only for ‘breaking news’. shame on the media.

G says:

04:42pm | 02/06/09

I totally agree with “Posted by: Munzz of Sydney 10:27am today “. Those thugs are going out especially for “Curry Bashing”, meaning they are not looking just for any vulnerable target but especially Indian looking targets. The reason Indian students don’t fight back is because they don’t want to worsen the situation, because they are not sure if it resulted in their arrest or something like that then what happens to their student visas. If nothing serious is done by the government in this matter then I dread to think what will happen if these Indian students start going out in groups bashing vulnerable whites ... retaliation i mean.

Johnnie Do-Little says:

04:43pm | 02/06/09

Yiddish proverb (and no, I am not Jewish):

“If one person tells you that you have ass’s ears, take no notice;
  should two tell you so, procure a saddle for yourself.”

Perhaps we should take time out to honestly examine ourselves. We may need a saddle.

The “Your country is more racist than our country” line of argument does not solve anything.

The issue is how well or poorly do we minimise racism in this country.

Academic says:

05:29pm | 02/06/09

I’m not suggesting one country is more racist than the other, but lets be brutally honest here.  Australia DOES have serious issues with racism, and it’s not just a problem with a minority of people.  Not all of it get aired publicly, but behind closed doors it rears its ugly head with alarming regularity.  I’m Australian, white as you can imagine, but there’s people out there who assume that must mean I hate immigrants/natives/tourists/anybody who doesn’t look “white”.  I’ve heard it all, and it disgusts me.  But it’s not just the “Australians” who are guilty of this.  It spreads across all cultures and all ethnic groups.  But to suggest that “Australia isn’t racist” is incredibly naive.

Vivek says:

05:41pm | 02/06/09

Some very interesting comments on this blog. Some people say that the media has blown it out of proportion, and many of them are Indians! Goodness me, the media was silent until all the Indian channels had reported the incidents for more than two days. Some people are saying that India has problems like bride burning and other violence. But that is not what we are talking about are we ? What we are talking about are how the problems in Australia are related to race because this becomes an international issue now that India is a world player. You need to do trade with India and so have to listen to what India has to say, right ? Now, every Australian knows whether they are racist, right ? 90 percent of white Australians are racist. It is a different matter that they might not know it. Some consider themselves racist if they would kill someone of another race. But it is also racist if you feel an unreasonable sympathy based on just colour. Look at how Victorian police behaved with peaceful demonstrators while they dont have such history in general.

DR RAVIRAJ says:

06:40pm | 02/06/09

AUSTRALIAN POLICE BRUTALITY-At least there is no firing on the protesters as would had happened in India..for south Indians who hate northies..for north Indians who hate southie food n culture ..for maharashtrians who hate practically all indians..for pale skinned people who hate dark skinned Indians n pass comments on them…in a country where ARMY thinks they are above LAW n police are busy bribing ..I THINK IN australia they don call fellow aussies—- (CHUDA CHAMAR-DALITS ,MIYA,LANDE-MUSLIMS,BATLA BADGA-CHRISTIANS… N ALSO there musnt be any 12 o clock jokes or comments on the hair of the sikh community..INDIANS RESPECT EACH OTHER FIRST BEFORE EXPECTING THE WORLD TO RESPECT YOU.. JAI HIND

Melbourne Mum says:

07:23pm | 02/06/09

I’m angry. I’m a 45yo mother of 3 sons living in Melbourne (which is huegley multicultural)_ and Indians are a big part of the community around here. My 3sons all have goods friends with kids of Indian/Sri Lankan/Chinese/who cares descent, they go to each others houses and we don’t think anything of it ...

Now I see photos of people burning effigys of our prime minister and read the articles in the Indian press and I am really angry about it. My country and I, as an Australian, am being labelled racist!

I wouldn’t let my sons rides suburban trains late at night in any suburb - let alone the western suburbs here which are know to be more criminally active. I don’t care about student numbers/immigration issues etc. I am getting very angry when I look at the Indian press- and once you rile up the middle aged mums you really are stirring up trouble.

Rob O'N says:

07:24pm | 02/06/09

I’m a friend of India, I’ve been there many times. To the people of India, we say, don’t let the acts of one or two lunatics confuse you about how Australians feel about your country.

And don’t let the cynical politicians of the BJP (and their RSS cronies) whip you up into a fervour.

Rob O'N says:

07:27pm | 02/06/09

By the way, Vivek, to say “90 percent of white Australians are racist” is, sadly for you, a pretty racist thing to say.

And like much racism, it’s also wildly inaccurate.

Marcus says:

07:46pm | 02/06/09

Vivek, saying that “90 percent of white Australians are racist” is in itself a racist (and racialist) comment.

carlos M says:

07:46pm | 02/06/09

come on mates, i live in melbourne and i know that attacks can happen to any one. welcome to a modern city, i have friends over seas where dangerous crimes happen all the time. It’s got nothing to do with the colour of your skin it’s where you are at the time. walking alone late at night by your self is a bad ideal. there are too many people out there looking for quick buck. just take care and don’t go down the easy road of it was a hate crime.
if it was a hate crime then we would have an indian bashing every day like they had in england in the late 70’s.
in summin up if you don’t like australia then pack up your bags and head home no one is keeping you here. let someone else start a new life here and let them take your spot they can live the australian dream like i did.

Greg says:

08:51pm | 02/06/09

Please clam down Indian people, while my sympathies go out the family of the murdered man in Melbourne and I hate violence. Its not as if tourists, businesspeople or students are never murdered in India.  Murderers are in every country. Remember that British girl who was raped and killed on the beach in Goa?

Do we run around Canberra screaming ‘racist India’ and burn effigies everytime a tourist or student is killed in India? Please clam down.

Mitsy says:

09:29pm | 02/06/09

To the people who have given an analogy an australian missionary being burnt in India… let me tell you, there was a huge hue&cry; in the Indian media as well as the people after the incident. In fact there was condemnation all round and proactive action was taken by Govt agencies against alleged culprits.

Now what do Aussies do when racist attacks happen against Indians.. Well, they say - 1. India has caste system, hence they have no right to call on our racist actions. 2. If you are not happy in this country, go back. 3. If Australian missionary can be attacked in India, then Indians can be attacked here.

Just goes to show that the majority of the people here are OK at heart with these racist attacks and are looking to simply brush them aside, or should I say, defending them!!!

P.S - Not that it matters or justifies his murder, but that Aussie missionary was converting Hindus to Christianity (mostly through incentives). So he was actually treading upon the sentiments of many in the local community!

So there was a motive, at least for some..

What did these poor students do? They were just there to study and happened to be brown!!

By the way these students directly contribute more than USD 3 Bn annually to the Australian education export economy - besides other indirect inflows for living expenses!!! So going by the incentivization theory, these students should actually be welcome..

Siv says:

11:01pm | 02/06/09

I am a Hindu from the indian subcontinent living in Australia for over 25 Years (more thant half of my life time) .  I have to congratulate Victoriam police to hold law and order.  Kevin Rudd is one of the best prime ministers we ever had and he is a world class leader.  Manmohan Singh who is the puppett of sonya gandhi does not need to advise our leader.  Our leader is a very intelligent and honest diplomat.  We have a system in Australia to take care of things.  Unlike in the corrupt subcontinent where the political leader runs around to help his stogees,  in Austrlia the political leader’s job is not to fire fight or interfere with the govt depts.  Their job is to create policies of good governance.  And the agencies will implement them.  I am the so called curry telling every one that this country is neither corruppted nor racist like INDIA.  You kill sikhs, muslims, harijans and all sort of minorites and you have blood in your hands stop being hypocrites.  Long live Kevin Rudd and Victoria Police.

Bharat Kumar says:

11:07pm | 02/06/09

How dare these Aussies even think of hurting Indians.
Here are some quick facts for all Australians…check it mate!
1- India is the second fastest growing economy in the whole world at the rate of 6.7 after China even in time of this recession.
2- India has the third largest and strongest military in the whole world with the strength of 1.4 million after the US and China still we are not arrogant.
3- India is the second most populated country in the world with the population of 1.2 billion people sill we are generous and peace loving.
4- WTO and the US have predicted that India is going to be the next SUPERPOWER by the time of 2025 both by the means of economy and military.
Therefore I wonder why you people are still living in the mindset of 70s and 80s. You people just need to grow up.
Gone are those days mate, get real.
Don’t mess with India atleast for the sake of your future generations. This century belongs to India and China not to you racist white people who are nothing but arrogent and living in deep denial about their own actual identity.

Andrew says:

11:13pm | 02/06/09

Firtsly, Congrats Kevin; it usually takes a little longer to have an effigy of you burnt in protest. You must be doing something right.

Secondly, yes, these are racist related attacks in the sense that your average bogan from West Melbourne would think anyone who looks different is a threat. Not real bright these boys!

However, having lived in India for two years the commotion around the protest is what caught my attention. (and Vivek’s indignation) The accusations of excess violence reminds me of a story when I lived there. The local rickshaw drivers were protesting about some pay related grievance. The police response was to fire two rounds from those beautifully archaic (yet extremely effective) Mk1 Lee Enfielnd 303’s. The result was three dead rickshaw drivers. One bullet passed through the first person and killed the man behind as well.

It seems the Times of India has a selective archive when it comes to researching stories of quelling riots in their own country. Perhaps the Victorian police should use the same methods?

I also should mention the abuse and distain my Northern Indian colleagues were subjected from the Tamils in Chennai when it was found out they came from the North.

Australia has a racist element; ask the Greeks and Italians of 50 years ago, the Vietmanese of 30 years ago and the Poms since god invented them. However compared to the racism I see in other parts of the world where I have lived, we have managed to keep it under control.

Indian-Aussie says:

11:24pm | 02/06/09

The issue at hand should be discussed as related, but different issues: 1. Criminal assault - were the assaults deliberately racist or merely opportunistic - read merely choosing easy targets? Do we know the profile of the those who carried out the attack? Where they regulars, street gangsters, drugs addicts who pick their victims as opportunity presents itself? Or where the attacks purely based on racial hatred? Would they have spared a white man in the same instance? 2. Racial discrimination: Racial discrimination does not necessary involve criminal assault. The discrimination can be overt or covert. It might be educational to find how white Australians of all backgrounds feel about the issue, and how Indians at the receiving end might feel about it. What are the numbers in reality of those who feel racist and act racist, and those who feel racially discriminated. 3. Indian media has whipped this up. Times of India and NDTV is becoming increasingly pro-BJP and BJP-like in their coverage and assessment of all issues related to India. Read the RSS manifesto and all information related to their daughter organizations for better understanding. RSS, established in 1925 was an underground, militant organization which did not work with the peaceful freedom fighters of British India. They are stuck in the militant, underground resistance mindset. They interpret everything as existential and needing violent solutions immediately. They have brainwashed enough people to believe only those who follow their ideals are “real” Hindus and “real” Indians. The overreaction is a result of that indoctrination. Luckily in the past election, the Congress just about managed to come in power. But unfortunately the militant Hindu faction BJP, the political arm of RSS, is still the second largest political party in India, and they have their allies. One such politician was reported as saying that Indian cricket teams should drop all Australian players as punishment. PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS must be sought. Sadly media thrives on sensationalism, so we have not yet seen the end of such reporting. There is even a call going out to Indians to boycott Australia for studies. Sad. Sad. Sad.

Sandi says:

11:40pm | 02/06/09

Can anyone show me where it says in any of these reports that the perpetrators of all these attacks are Australians especially, it seems from comments here and elsewhere, of the “white” variety? There are, after all, Australians, and non-Australians, of many origins and skin colours living here.

Why assume that the attackers must be white Australians? Their origin/skin colour does not seem to have been mentioned in most reports. Therefore “white” Aussies are to be overwhelmingly blamed by default?

Here’s a clue:
“Interestingly, the attackers are mostly not locals and are themselves people of foreign origin …”
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Worried-parents-call-student-back-from-Aus/articleshow/4601485.cms

It’s sad and deplorable that these attacks are happening at all, but the behaviour of the demonstrators is simply not acceptable. They are guests, and guests who so rudely make demands of their hosts, burn effigies of our leaders, cause disruption and damage property don’t give us any reason to think well of them, let alone open our arms in welcome.

But just shout “racist” and we are expected to draw back in shame and give in to whatever demands, no matter how outrageous, spew forth, for fear of being so branded. That too many of us do just that is clearly evident here. Why is that? Well, not this Aussie.

Ask yourselves:
If Australia and Australians, especially the “white” ones are so “racist”, why do tens of thousands of immigrants of every race and skin colour come here every year?
Why do people risk their lives to get here on unseaworthy boats, and more wait willingly for years in refugee camps?
Why do so many of those who come here on student visas, gain residency, and then take advantage of our distinctly non-racist family reunion policy to bring their families here?

Jack Sparrow says:

12:37am | 03/06/09

I guess this is getting little out of hand blown by the media and certainly the media in India has to be partly blamed, but the police here are toothless, our friends house too was robbed, the first think the police did is to find out if they had insurance and asked them to claim from them and effectively closed the case. Why do you need a police for that, may be they can sit and collect fines on poor motorists for parking and speeding just to keep them employed. Cmon mate!! get a real job and catch culprits

Purnendu says:

01:15am | 03/06/09

I was planning to send my younger sister to Australia to study an MBA and come back. Not any longer.  I do not trust Australia with the safety of my family anymore. inspite of all its problems, India is still my country and much safer as it looks to me.

Even I had thought of going there, didn’t know I will have to keep a Khukhri with me all the time instead of a Pen, to save myself from the “Urban teenagers” who are out of control and go on a stabbing spree in nights instead of studying and making their life better.

How long will a country with such youngsters survive? From where did the teenagers learn all this violence ? What were the parents doing ?

Vivek says:

01:45am | 03/06/09

Marcus, I didnt include Greeks in the 10 percent. Seriously, I didnt mean the white skin colour makes one a racist, but the “culture” that usually comes with that.

R. Krithivas says:

02:56am | 03/06/09

If it is Hindu “extemists” who are protesting in New Delhi against the assault on Indian students in Australia, then it is the Christian White Supremacist Australian Radicals who are responsible for the attack on Indians. Australian press is this ignorant? Shame on your ignorance.

Stuart says:

04:05am | 03/06/09

Mitsy, Indians have an extremely poor perception worldwide in every country they go to to increase their personal wealth. Even Indians here can often be racist against them due to their arrogant attitudes and belitting of locals. If Indians had a bit more humility and didn’t act like they own the world I’m sure they would be able to adapt better not just here but in the US and other countries where a lot of people have poor opinons of them.

The audacity of Indians complaining about racial abuse when they are the most prejudiced and racist country in the world is staggering. Here’s a tip if you don’t like it here you can always go back home? Funny thing is they never do.

Atul says:

04:56am | 03/06/09

I can’t believe Aussies here are apologizing for thugs and racist elements in their society citing, Hindu extremists, social ills in India… Are you serious!?!?
So if there is even one murder in India, that gives Aussies the right to all the “curry bashing” taking place in Australia.
I say if there is one Aussie hurt in India, we Indians would like to prosecute the culprit to the fullest, at least I won’t be found apologizing for the thugs. I expect the same from Australia. The mood here on this board (and by extrapolation in white Australia) is that you would like your thugs to reserve the right to bash foreigners and if they don’t like it they should go back, or put up with it.
Maybe that gives some insight into the root cause of the problem…

Gautham says:

07:36am | 03/06/09

So somebody who brought the issue of Graham Staines (missionary who was burnt to death) to this forum.

He was at a wrong place at a wrong time, possibly with an iPod brought from Australia. Maybe, the thugs were trying to steal the iPod and in the resulting ‘affray’ he caught fire.

Yes, Absurd. But this is what I have been hearing about attack on Indian students from literally everyone, top to bottom, in Australia. They just dont get it.

Again, someone brought the issue of caste etc. Have you forgot how natives were abused and stolen in Australia and how you ‘belatedly’ apologized.

The point is there is always a counter point. Wake up and look at your underbelly and do something about it. It’s silly to say you will get beaten up or killed because you are at a wrong place at wrong time, as if Indian students have some suicidal tendencies.

I guess some world body should invent AWT (Australian Wrong Time) and then derive how it should work with GMT.

Sasha says:

07:50am | 03/06/09

You WILL see repercussions in India.I am Kiwi and every kiwi call aussies racists or cons.Nobody likes them here.I think we defeat u in rugby,India and south africa in cricket, Brazil and Italy in football.Germany in Hockey,china in gymnastics,russia in wrestling,cuba in boxing,U guys copy america which is atleast trillion times more developed and diverse,dubai skyrises are sort of complex to u guys.what u guys left with frustration and racism. Sorry to say have sportsmen spirit

Danny says:

12:46pm | 03/06/09

Sasha - that’s odd, considering so many Kiwi’s move here, so we obviously can’t be too bad. I spent 3 weeks in NZ last year. Luckily I didn’t encounter anyone calling me a racist or con, I found the people to be very nice.

Rickyy says:

01:31pm | 03/06/09

I am Indian too and i completely agree with all those comments that this is not issue of only student bashing or racism but its problem of all over security concerns.. We need to improve security and all related stuff, If we will have better securities and better law system to fight against these bastards then there would be no issue of Racism on any particular community..

Vivek says:

01:54pm | 03/06/09

Although the general tendency on the blog seems to be of defending “whatever”, some arguments are weak. Why people still come to Australia is because it still is a naturally rich country. The country may have decided to give up attempts at getting out of medieval hatred and racism. People saying that Indians flaunt riches are next to retarded. What riches ? Mercedes ? Porsche ? Or a 50 dollar ipod ? Look at how many beggars in India have ipod and you would be surprised. I havent checked the figures but the functional mobiles in India must be far exceeding those in Australia. Come and have a look. How can you equate the burning of an “effigy” of Oz PM in India with brutal killing and bashing of “real humans” ? In India and many parts of world burning of effigy is considered a way of protest. But, NO NO NO, dont start doing bad logic again. India is democratic and police arrests crimnal activities, but an effigy does not have “life” according to Indian constitution. Oh yes, India does pull its diplomatic muscle now and then. The insensitive comments by Howard’s foreign minister on India’s nuclear tests made India pass economic sanctions and then Howard came running to India. Check with Howard and the Australian industry.

Ravi Kishore says:

02:12pm | 03/06/09

We indian do not want to label Australia as racist. The majority of crimes which happen to occur are comitted by thugs. However the most disappointing thing is the fact that there race related crimes are comitted by underage (below 18) persons. The governement should start thinking of how to teach the next generation to be peaceful and law abiding citizens.

Mathew George says:

07:45pm | 03/06/09

I was planning to enrol for my MBA at RMIT - cancelled it at the last minute. I have accepted an offer in Singapore’s NUS instead. Thank you Australia, for showing your true colors before it was too late for me.

Yes,  you guys are definitely racist. To all those guys who talk of caste system and intolerance (hindu vs muslim) I invite you to visit India, gone are the days of caste differentiation. I personally can mention more than 10 brahmins married to lower castes/SC/dalits off the top of my head. Regarding intolerance, the congress party’s re-election is evidence enough that we believe in tolerance. The allegiances that Indians Muslims gave during the Mumbai attacks are evidence enough. The very fact that an Indian Christian like me is writing this post is evidence, by the way.

Not to mention, your comparisons of these crimes to so-called caste discrimination is so illogical given that your attacks are serious injuries that cost lives or serious imprisonment - a totally different ballgame. To see the Victoria police attacking protesting Indian students was the last straw for many Indians.

By the way, I have lived most of my life in foreign countries, including the UK, US, Canada and Singapore. No where did I find these kind of threats.

Shame on you Australia.

vivek form HK says:

10:09pm | 03/06/09

all i want to say is that any tourist going to india, pls don’t cancel your plans. both governments are responsible enough and will tackle this problem. so pls do visit india, its really a amazing country.

Kevin says:

10:14am | 04/06/09

Labor government has too much on its plate to care about human concerns…....

Paul says:

04:53pm | 04/06/09

This IS a racial attack on the Indians. I’ve witnessed it first hand a few years back and blatant ignorance by the Australian Government (just like they did during the Mohammad Haneef case) is only gonna make them look bad. The whole of Australia is asking for JUSTICE but its interesting to see the Aussie PM and DyPM coming on TV and refusing to playing fair

gavin c couzens says:

05:08pm | 04/06/09

This country will lose those intelligent young minds and stay behind the rest of the world forever all because of the mind set that australians have in terms of people who are not white or of western appearance
This is history repeating as the indigenous peoples got the same treatment and how do I know “well” I was and still am one of those indigenous persons but unfortunatly I do not have the privilige to go to another country to dwell or what ever.
My theory is that because this country was or had a main populas of the convict/criminal genetic make up-  It is that now the criminal gene is more prevalent resulting in these action taking by the white australians against the not so white people and guest of and to this country. If you find this offecive then thats your problem:

Shawn says:

11:01pm | 04/06/09

Australian government needs to act now as educated Indians have contributed significantly to the growth of America and UK. We need to attract the best of India to help Australia learn and grow further. We have the systems in place and this can be further fuelled by inputs from Indians and Asians in general to ensure that we become the best if the world.

I ask my fellow Aussie mates, are you trying to justify your acts by comparing a developed nation to a developing nation. No offense to Indians, but Australia is a developed nation ranked so highly because of the systems in place. The current activities have demonstrated that Australia is not a safe country any more. Some of the attacks were shocking and and trust me if the same thing happened to a single Australian, we would have gone over board with the protests, if Symonds episode was any reflection of how we reacted.

dan says:

03:30am | 05/06/09

What about the North eastern Indians who get abused in mainland India, they resemble east asians in apperance, and are from the regions of Nagaland, Manipur etc, and are often attacked, abused and raped in Cities throughout India. Its well known how much our people have suffered racism in India. We feel more safe here in Australia

Raj says:

10:25am | 05/06/09

As if the Australian media is any better! If you don’t like looking at yourself in the mirror now, then I hope many Aussies have now learned to better read between the lines!  By the way, I have been close to some of these attacks and without a doubt the race thing makes the attackers feel more justified in doing this crime.

Vic says:

12:25pm | 05/06/09

This is truly a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Remember India’s response to racist monkey chants levelled at Andrew Symonds by both the public and their players? We were laughed at and told to harden up. When we pressed the issue, India threatened boycotts and all sorts of stupid things.
Indians are highly discriminatory, look at their class system where they have a group of people labelled as “untouchables” Let’s ask an indian his opnion on Pakistanis, then you will REALLY hear racism.
Indians shoud take a long hard look at themsleves before they level claims of racism against ayone else.

Hass says:

01:37pm | 05/06/09

As an international student myself, i have been racially abused. I know a few friends who have been racially abused and discriminated. Yes, there is a minority of bogans here but that doesn’t mean that the entire country is racist. We have seen more racism issues in Australia such as Cronulla 2005, Manly 2009, Aboriginals (historically) and now Melbourne. Are they a notch higher than other countries in racial discrimination? May be, may be not. Racial discrimination occurs everywhere, except for Antartica may be. We all need to accept it, deal with it and move on.

garry says:

02:29pm | 05/06/09

Its not about India and Australia its about increasing crime rate and police need to do something to stop this .

Anand Kumar says:

04:58pm | 06/06/09

I am from a Dalit background (lower caste hindu), I got a scholarship to study in a good Australian university, for which i am very grateful. My father and mother went through lot of discrimination in India, in jobs, in education, even in housing. I have felt more safe and more accepted for being who I am in Australia, than in India. Even to the moment I had to leave India, I have faced discrimination and ridicule often from the hands of upper castes. Australia has chosen to see beyond my skin color, my caste, and into my soul and my capabilities to offer back to this society and given me an equal chance. In India, yes, there may be few examples of dalits occupying high positions but its more of a poster show, compared to the millions that are oppressed and live under severe opression. I hope this website will publish my thoughts too, even as much I am sorry for the indian students attacked, I am more grieved at how my brethren face attacks daily and humiliation back in India. My father’s last wish to me was, that his children would not face discrimination throughout their life,and would be able to study and use their education wisely.  He believed in me and so did Australia too. I am grateful to this land, to its government and to its people.

Charles says:

11:38am | 09/06/09

Not only has Victoria developed the moniker of ‘swine ‘flu capital’ of Australia, it is fast becoming the ‘racially related bashing capital’ of Australia.

Starting from a review of the sentence meted to the youths, through a review of recent handling of events by the Vic Police Commissioner, the Vic Govt needs to take swift & public action which is highly visible both in Vic and abroad.

Jason says:

01:49am | 10/06/09

In respect of Symonds episode, it was a different case al together as in our office, mix of nationalities tried to interpret that. We ultimately came to the conclusion that Harbhajan has infact mentioned ” Ma ki” which means your mother. Its a term used to sort of infuriate an Indian.

Then some Sri Lankans pointed out that the Australian team had called them mon*eys or chim*s when Sri Lanka toured Australia. We had long debates and found out that Australians and other nationalities are equally to blame. We Australians walk around with a chip on our shoulder, not making it easy for immigrants to mix or understand our culture. We start pointing out things that we should not. This normally puts the immigrant on the defensive and it is all down hill from there. We have two options: -

A) To ensure that no immigrants come in. Do we really want this? I would rather benefit and learn from different cultures than stayed shunted down under.
B) Introduce measures in offices and colleges to ensure that immigrants know about our living style and culture. This way we give them a chance and an opportunity to adapt and change as per the Australian living style.

Its our country and we have to work to make it better. I am dissappointed to see Australians trying to point fingers about how India is, without even going there. We do not make our wrong look better by comparing it to another wrong. We have to fix the wrong within our country as we are the best and we want to stay there. God bless.

Sunny says:

07:53am | 10/06/09

As expected the real cry babies are AUSTRALIANS. They used bad language in cricket all their lives and when Harbhajan said something, they starting crying like babies. All because they were loosing.

Now Australians are jealous that Indians are more educated, peaceful than those lousy idiot who roam around and attacking indians.

It is on record that Australians used every means to low as possible to win.

This forum just showed how uncivilized, immature and jealous AUSTRALIANS are of India.

That fittingly they were kicked out of T20 world championships.

Jim Johnson says:

06:56pm | 11/06/09

The fact that people here are commenting on India’s “caste system etc etc”, just shows how some people are so narrow minded and through highlighting differences, just indirectly seems like subtle racism. You have to remember that these certain systems, although seem unethical, exist due to the over population that exists. Indias capital country alone has 3 times to population of Australia and is practically the size of Sydney. People are whining also over Andrew Symonds ‘racist monkey chants’ when crowds here are known to make the news about racially taunting South Africans, let alone historically, talented Aboriginal players not making national representative teams. As for an Indians racist attitude towards Muslims, there has been alot of blood, sweat and tears from both sides which has warranted that attitude. Indias division of Hindus and Muslims have existed centuries longer, with more wars between them being carried out, than the Whites and Aboriginals of Australia, so on what basis can you blame them. Aboriginals did nothing to the Whites here, yet the discrimination still exists. I’m sure if you asked a Muslim person, they’ll simply tell you that they hate anyone who ISN’T Muslim.

Rahul says:

11:53pm | 21/06/09

Vic, I am sorry, but you missed the whole issue with untouchables. I am extremely hygenic and if anybody does not maintain, I have issues with that. The caste system is non-existent, but there is discrimination based on work. I will never shake hands with a sweeper, but if he is all washed up, its a different story. Thus, its not the person, but the job.
In addition, Symonds was never called a monkey. Harbhajan said Ma ki, which does sound a bit like that, but is a totally different word and a slang. We do not go around calling peop0le mon*ey, donk*y, etc.
My only interaction with Aussies have been in UAE and that has been the most unpleasant one. I have Irish, British, American friends, but not a single Aussie friend as they would just rant all sort of bull sh*t with out having any clue about India. Just listening to them, I never feel like coming to Australia. Maybe Australia is a place for needy immigrants. I am better off being in a Western world.

Jonathan says:

10:27am | 22/06/09

I object to being labelled ‘racist’... I hate everyone equally!
Citizens of Australia get as much safety and security as they can afford, with the hard working ones able to afford private security, or live in areas with no government housing.  Governments have been winding back policing for years, forcing people to pay for security.  People who come here expecting to be protected by police are seriously mis-guided.